Background of the Invention
[0001] This invention relates to interactive television program guides, and more particularly,
to techniques for monitoring advertising that is provided with interactive television
program guides and for monitoring user activities such as user television viewing
activities.
[0002] Interactive television program guides allow television users to view television program
listings on their televisions. Other functions that are provided by such program guides
include the ability to display program listings in various formats, to perform genre-based
searches for programs of interest, to support pay-per-view ordering, etc. Interactive
program guides are typically implemented on microprocessor-based set-top boxes. Program
listings data is transmitted to the set-top boxes from a centralized data distribution
facility via the user's cable system headend. The program listings data is typically
stored in memory in the set-top box, where it may be accessed by the interactive program
guide.
[0003] Interactive program guides may be used to display advertisements, as described in
Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Serial No. 09/034,939, filed March 4, 1998,
Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Serial No. 09/070,604, filed April 30, 1998,
Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Serial No. 09/070,555, filed April 30, 1998,
and Boylan, III et al. U.S. patent application Serial No. 09/070,700, filed April
30, 1998, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Program
guide advertisements provide the user with useful information on various products
and services. For example, program guide advertisements may be used to promote upcoming
television programs. Program guide advertisements may also be used to promote non-programming
products and services. For example, the user may be presented with an opportunity
to purchase a product or service by selecting an interactive advertisement.
[0004] In order to determine the effectiveness of advertisements, it would be desirable
to be able to monitor how often advertisements are displayed and selected by the user.
It would also be desirable to be able to monitor which program guide screens the advertisements
are displayed on and which program guide screens the user activates in general. Monitoring
of user viewing activities and the user's use of non-program guide applications would
also be desirable. Monitoring these types of information with a program guide would
allow advertisements to be used most effectively. The information might also be used
to provide program guide services that would otherwise not be possible.
[0005] In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
interactive television program guide system in which advertisement usage and user
activities are monitored by the guide.
Summary of the Invention
[0006] This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles
of the present invention by providing an interactive television program guide system
in which the usage of advertisements by users of the interactive television program
guide may be monitored. Advertisement usage may be monitored by determining which
advertisements are transmitted from a television distribution facility to user television
equipment (e.g., to the set-top boxes of various users). Advertisement usage may also
be monitored by determining which advertisements are received at the user television
equipment. Another way in which advertisement usage may be monitored is by determining
which advertisements are displayed during use of the program guide.
[0007] The system may monitor which program guide screens are accessed by users most frequently.
Information such as which advertisements are used and which screens are displayed
may be analyzed to determine the relative value of various advertisements and program
guide screens.
[0008] If desired, information on the television viewing activities of users may be collected.
Such information may include information on whether a user has blocked the audio of
a program by using a mute function or has blocked all or some of the video of a program
by displaying a graphic overlay of some type (e.g., a program guide display, etc.)
on top of a program. The information collected on viewing activities may also include
information on when the user last interacted with the program guide (which is indicative
of whether the user is still watching the program or has left the room).
[0009] The use of non-program guide applications by the user may also be monitored. For
example, the program guide may monitor which video games are played by the user. Information
on the programs that are watched by the user and the non-program guide applications
that are run by the user may be collected by the system in real time. This information
may then be analyzed to determine real-time ratings. For example, real-time ratings
for the most popular television programs in the nation may be generated. Real-time
ratings may also be generated for non-program guide applications.
[0010] Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more
apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive television program guide system
in which advertisement usage may be monitored in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating how an advertisement for a program may be displayed
as part of a program guide screen and how the user may be presented with various program
guide options related to the advertised program when the user selects such an advertisement
in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how an advertisement for a product or service may
be displayed as part of a program guide screen and how the user may be presented with
an opportunity to order the advertised product or service when the user selects such
an advertisement in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing some of the monitoring functions that may be provided
by the interactive television program guide system in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data
that may be collected regarding advertisement usage in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data
that may be collected regarding usage of different screens in the program guide in
accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data
that may be collected regarding program viewing by the user in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data
that may be collected regarding usage of non-program-guide applications by the user
in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing steps involved in performing the data collection and analysis
functions of the interactive program guide system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 10a is an illustrative program guide display screen containing real-time ratings
information in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 10b is an illustrative flow chart of steps involved in allowing a user to select
a listing from the real-time ratings screen of FIG. 10a in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in providing real-time ratings
in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing steps involved in gathering information for a number
of separate user profiles and processing this information in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 13 is a flow chart of steps involved in filtering out less important data in
accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing how data filters may be located at user television equipment
or a data processing facility in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing how a data filter may involve filtering out less important
data based on specific advertisements or actions or may involve filtering out less
important data based on viewer demographics in accordance with the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
[0012] An illustrative interactive television program guide system 20 in accordance with
the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. Main facility 22 contains a program guide
database 24 for storing program guide information such as television program guide
listings data, pay-per-view ordering information, television program promotional information,
etc. Main facility 22 also contains an advertising database 26 for storing advertising
information. Information from databases 24 and 26 may be transmitted to multiple television
distribution facilities such as television distribution facility 28 via communications
links such as communications link 30. Link 30 may be a satellite link, a telephone
network link, a cable or fiber-optic link, a microwave link, a combination of such
links, or any other suitable communications path. If it is desired to transmit video
signals (e.g., for advertising and promotional videos) over link 30 in addition to
data signals, a relatively high bandwidth link such as a satellite link is generally
preferable to a relatively low bandwidth link such as a telephone line.
[0013] Television distribution facility 28 is a facility for distributing television signals
to users, such as a cable system headed, a broadcast distribution facility, or a satellite
television distribution facility.
[0014] The program guide information transmitted by main facility 22 to television distribution
facility 28 includes television program listings data such as program times, channels,
titles, descriptions, etc. Transmitted program information also includes pay program
data such as pricing information for individual programs and subscription channels,
time windows for ordering programs and channels, telephone numbers for placing orders
that cannot be impulse ordered, etc.
[0015] The advertising information transmitted by main facility 22 to television distribution
facility 28 may include text, graphics, and video advertisements for various programs,
products, and services. Advertisements may be distributed from main facility 22 to
multiple television distribution facilities 28, although only one television distribution
facility 28 is shown in FIG. 1 to avoid over-complicating the drawing.
[0016] Each television distribution facility 28 distributes advertisements to users at associated
user television equipment 32 via communications links 34. If desired, some advertising
information may be provided using advertising database 36 in television distribution
facility 28.
[0017] User television equipment 32 may be any suitable equipment for providing television
to the user that contains sufficient processing capabilities to implement an interactive
television program guide. Paths 34 may be cable links, fiber-optic links, satellite
links, broadcast links, or other suitable link or combination of such links. Any suitable
communications scheme may be used to transmit data over paths 34, including in-band
transmissions, vertical blanking interval transmissions, out-of-band transmissions,
digital transmissions, analog transmissions, cable transmissions, satellite transmissions,
over-the-air transmissions, multichannel multipoint distribution services (MMDS) transmissions,
etc.
[0018] The data distribution technique that is used to distribute data on paths 34 depends
on the type of information that is being distributed. For example, text and graphics
may be distributed over an out-of-band channel using an out-of-band modulator. Video
information may also be distributed in this way, although large quantities of video
information may be more efficiently distributed using one or more digital channels
on path 56. Such digital channels may also be used for distributing text and graphics.
[0019] Each user has a receiver, which is typically a set-top box such as set-top box 34,
but which may be other suitable television equipment such as an advanced television
receiver into which circuitry similar to set-top-box circuitry has been integrated
or a personal computer television (PC/TV). Data such as program guide data may be
distributed to set-top boxes 34 periodically. Television distribution facility 28
may also poll set-top boxes 34 periodically for certain information (e.g., pay program
account information or information regarding programs that have been purchased and
viewed using locally-generated authorization techniques).
[0020] Main facility 22 preferably contains a processor to handle information distribution
tasks. Each set-top box 34 preferably contains a processor to handle tasks associated
with implementing the interactive television program guide. Television distribution
facility 28 may contain a processor for handling tasks associated with data distribution.
[0021] Each set-top box 34 is typically connected to an optional videocassette recorder
36 so that selected television programs may be recorded. Each videocassette recorder
36 is connected to a television 38. To record a program, the interactive television
program guide implemented on set-top box 34 tunes set-top box 34 to a particular channel
and sends control signals to videocassette recorder 36 using, e.g., infrared transmitter
40, that direct videocassette recorder 36 to start and stop recording at the appropriate
times.
[0022] During use of the program guide, television program listings, advertisements, and
other information may be displayed on television 38. Each set-top box 34, videocassette
recorder 36, and television 38 may be controlled by one or more remote controls 42
or any other suitable user input interface such as a wireless keyboard, mouse, trackball,
dedicated set of keys, etc. A typical remote control 42 has cursor keys for positioning
a highlight region on the program guide screen and an OK or select button for selecting
a highlighted item on the screen. Other typical remote control buttons include buttons
such as a record button, channel up and down buttons, volume control buttons, numeric
keys, etc.
[0023] Communications paths 34 preferably have sufficient bandwidth to allow television
distribution facility 28 to distribute television programming, program listings information,
advertisements, and other information to user television equipment 32. Multiple television
and audio channels (analog, digital, or both analog and digital) may be provided to
user television equipment 32 via communications paths 34. If desired, certain data
such as program listings data may be distributed by one or more distribution facilities
that are separate from television distribution facility 28 using communications paths
that are at least partly separate from communications paths 28.
[0024] Certain functions, such as pay program purchasing, the purchasing of products or
services, and data collection functions, may require that user television equipment
32 transmit data to television distribution facility 28 over communications paths
34. If desired, such data may be transmitted over telephone lines or other separate
communications paths. If functions such as these are provided using facilities separate
from television distribution facility 28, some of the communications involving user
television equipment 32 may be made directly with the separate facilities.
[0025] Users of the interactive television program guide may interactively order additional
information, products, or services. For example, a user may place an order by selecting
an advertisement displayed in the program guide. Such orders may be satisfied by fulfillment
facilities 44 and 46. If desired, orders may be transmitted directly to fulfillment
facilities such as fulfillment facility 44 via links 48, which may be telephone links,
the Internet, or other suitable communications links. Orders may also be transmitted
to television distribution facility 28 via links 34, where the billing system of the
television distribution facility may be used. After the television distribution facility
28 has processed the user's order, television distribution facility 28 may transmit
the order to fulfillment facility 46 via link 50.
[0026] An illustrative program guide screen 52 containing an advertisement 54 is shown as
the upper screen of FIG. 2. Screen 52 contains program listings region 56, which includes
a number of program listings 58 for various television programs. The program listings
58 in program listings region 56 may be displayed in any of a number of suitable formats
such as listings ordered by time or by channel, listings grouped by genre, etc. Advertisement
54 may be selected by the user by positioning highlight 60 on advertisement 54 using
remote control cursor keys and pressing an OK or select button.
[0027] Advertisement 54 may be, for example, an advertisement for an upcoming television
program. As shown in the lower screen of FIG. 2, selecting advertisement 54 may direct
the program guide to display a screen 62 that contains a more detailed advertisement
64 for that program. Advertisement 64 and other advertisements in the program guide
may contain video 66, text 68, and graphics 70. Screen 62 may contain options 72 that
allow the user to order the advertised program (if the program is a pay-per-view program),
set a reminder for the program, or cancel the advertisement.
[0028] Advertisements may also be used to promote products and services. As shown in FIG.
3, program guide screen 74 contains a program listings region 76 that contains a number
of program listings 78. Screen 74 also contains an advertisement 80 for a product
or service. The user may select advertisement 80 by positioning highlight 82 on advertisement
80 using remote control cursor keys and pressing a select or OK button.
[0029] Selecting advertisement 80 directs the program guide to display program guide screen
84, which is shown as the lower screen in FIG. 3. Screen 84 typically contains more
detailed advertising information 86 on the product or service being promoted. Screen
84 also contains an order option 88 for ordering the product or service (using, e.g.,
fulfillment facility 44 or 46) and a cancel option 90 for cancelling the screen 84.
[0030] Program guide screens 52 and 62 of FIG. 2 and program guide screens 74 and 84 are
illustrative only. Any other suitable interactive television program guide screen
may be provided in the program guide if desired. Such program guide screens may or
may not include advertisements and program listings.
[0031] In order to measure the effectiveness of certain advertisements, system 20 may monitor
how advertisements are distributed to user television equipment 32. System 20 may
also monitor the location in the program guide where the advertisements are displayed
and may monitor how often advertisements are displayed. System 20 may also monitor
usage of various program guide screens (even if no advertisements are present). If
desired, information on the user's viewing activities may be monitored. The program
guide may also collect information on which non-program-guide applications the user
runs. Any other suitable type of information on the user's activities or use of the
program guide may be monitored if desired. The data that is collected on the user's
activities may be analyzed at any suitable data processing facility, such as a data
processor located at main facility 22 of FIG. 1, television distribution facility
28 of FIG. 1, or any other suitable facility or facilities.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, television distribution facility 28, main facility 22, or both
may be provided with advertisement transmission monitors 92 and 93 to monitor each
advertisement as it is transmitted from main facility 22 to television distribution
facility 28 and as it is transmitted from television distribution facility 28 to user
television equipment 32. This arrangement is advantageous in situations in which,
for example, main facility 22 or television distribution facility 28 performs tasks
associated with analyzing the collected data.
[0033] Advertisement distribution may also be monitored using an advertisement reception
monitor 94 in the user television equipment 32 of each user. Advertisement reception
monitor 94 keeps track of which advertisements are received by user television equipment
32.
[0034] Another way in which advertisement usage may be monitored is with advertisement usage
monitor 96. Advertisement usage monitor 96 collects information on which advertisements
are displayed by the program guide. Advertisement usage monitor 96 is shown as being
part of program guide application 98. Other suitable usage monitors that may be provided
as part of program guide application 98 include screen usage monitor 100 (for collecting
information on which screens are visited by the user), viewing activities monitor
102 (for collecting information on which programs the user watches), and non-program-guide
applications usage monitor 104 (for collecting information on which applications are
used by the user other than the program guide.
[0035] If desired, one or more of monitors 96, 100, 102, and 104 may be implemented on user
television equipment 32 fully or partially separate from program guide application
98. Advertisement reception monitor may also be fully or partially incorporated into
program guide application 98 if desired. The arrangement of FIG. 4 is illustrative
only. Any other suitable monitor arrangement may be used if desired. For example,
it may not generally be necessary to provide three advertisement monitors (i.e., monitors
92, 94, and 96), only one or two such monitors may be satisfactory.
[0036] When monitoring usage of an advertisement, system 20 may collect a number of different
items of data. An illustrative advertisement usage data structure 106 that may be
used by system 20 in collecting advertisement usage data is shown in FIG. 5. Data
structure 106 preferably contains a unique advertisement identifier 108 for identifying
the advertisement to which the data in data structure 106 relates.
[0037] If transmission monitors such as advertisement transmission monitors 92 and 93 of
FIG. 4 are used, data structure 106 may contain information 110 on whether the advertisement
was transmitted correctly from main facility 22 (FIGS. 1 and 4) to television distribution
facility 28 (FIGS. 1 and 4) and whether the advertisement was transmitted correctly
from television distribution facility 28 (FIGS. 1 and 4) to user television equipment
32 (FIGS. 1 and 4).
[0038] If a reception monitor such as advertisement reception monitor 94 of FIG. 4 is used,
data structure 106 may contain information 112 on whether the advertisement that was
transmitted from television distribution facility 28 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to user television
equipment 32 (FIGS. 1 and 2) was received correctly by user television equipment 32.
[0039] If an advertisement usage monitor such as advertisement usage monitor 96 of FIG.
4 is used, data structure 106 may contain various data on when and where in the program
guide the advertisement was displayed. For example, data structure 106 may contain
information 114 on the number of times that the advertisement was displayed. Data
structure 106 may also contain information 116 on which program guide screens the
advertisement was displayed on. Data structure 106 may contain information 118 on
which program guide screens was active each time the advertisement was selected by
the user. Another type of information that data structure 106 may be provided with
is information 120 on the user actions that resulted directly from the user's selection
of the advertisement. Information 120 may also include information on actions taken
automatically by the program guide. The actions included in information 120 may include
watching a program, recording a program, purchasing a program, etc. If desired, the
date and time the advertisement or action was taken in the program guide may be monitored
and appropriate information 122 may be stored in data structure 106.
[0040] If system 20 contains a screen usage monitor such as screen usage monitor 100 of
FIG. 4, the system may maintain data structures such as screen usage data structure
124 of FIG. 6. Data structure 124 may include information 126 that uniquely identifies
the interactive television program guide screen viewed by the user. Data structure
124 may also contain information 128 on the frequency with which the program guide
screen is displayed. Information 130 may be provided in data structure 124 on the
duration for which the screen is displayed. If desired, information 132 may be provided
in data structure 124 on how the user arrived at the screen (e.g., which menu options
were selected to allow the user to navigate through the program guide to the screen).
Data structure 124 may also include information 134 on which actions the user takes
from the screen.
[0041] If system 20 contains a viewing activities monitor such as viewing activities monitor
102 of FIG. 4, the system may maintain data structures such as viewing activities
data structure 136 of FIG. 7 to keep track of the programs that each viewer watches.
Data structure 136 preferably contains a program identifier 138 for uniquely identifying
the program watched by the user. Data structure 136 may also contain information 140
on whether the user interacts with the program guide while the program is displayed.
If the user is not interacting with the program guide, then it is possible that the
user has left the room and is no longer watching the program. The time elapsed from
the last user interaction may be used by the program guide in evaluating ratings for
various programs. Another type of information that may be included in data structure
136 relates to information on whether the user has blocked the audio or video of the
program that is being displayed. This also indicates that the user is not actively
watching the program. Information on blocked audio or video may include information
142 on whether the user has invoked an audio mute function or information 144 on whether
any screen overlays are present while the program is displayed.
[0042] If system 20 contains a non-program-guide monitor such as non-program-guide monitor
104 of FIG. 4, the system may maintain data structures such as non-program-guide application
data structure 146 of FIG. 8 to keep track of which non-program-guide applications
are used. Examples of such non-program-guide applications include set-top based video
games, home shopping applications, web browser applications, home banking applications,
etc. Data structure 146 preferably contains a non-program-guide application identifier
148 that uniquely identifies which non-program-guide application is being used. Data
structure 146 may also include information 150 on how the user invokes the application
(e.g., whether or not the user invokes the non-program-guide application from the
program guide, which program guide screen the user invokes the application from, etc.)
Information 152 may also be included in data structure 146 on the amount of use of
the non-program-guide application.
[0043] Data structures such as data structure 106, data structure 124, data structure 136,
and data structure 146 may be collected in various locations within system 20 and
may be distributed and maintained in various locations within system 20. For example,
such data structures may be collected in whole or in part in user television equipment
32 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and passed to television distribution facility 28 or other suitable
data processing facility for analysis. Another suitable location for data processing
is main facility 22 or a separate data processing facility. After the collected data
is processed, the results may be used at any suitable locations within system 20,
such as at main facility 22, television distribution facility 28, or user television
equipment 32.
[0044] Steps involved in monitoring various activities with system 20 are shown in FIG.
9. Steps 154 involve information collection. Steps 156 involve data analysis. Steps
158 involve using the results of the data analysis. Although shown in FIG. 9 as steps
that may be performed successively, steps 154, 156, and 158 and their substeps may
be performed (in whole or in part) in any suitable order or concurrently if desired.
Moreover, these steps are only illustrative, any other information collection, data
analysis, and data analysis usage steps may be performed by system 20 if desired.
[0045] At step 160, information on advertisement usage is collected (e.g., by one or more
advertisement monitors such as advertisement monitors 92, 94, and 96 of FIG. 4). At
step 162, information on the user's use of various program guide screens is collected.
At step 164, information is collected on the viewing activities of the user (e.g.,
which programs the user watches and what audio and video blocking functions are used).
At step 166, information is collected on the non-program-guide applications run by
the user.
[0046] At step 168, the collected information is used to determine the relative value of
various advertisements and various program guide screens. For example, if it is determined
that users very frequently view a particular program guide screen and often select
advertisements that appear on that particular screen, it can be concluded that that
particular program guide screen is a valuable location to place advertisements within
the program guide. If it is determined that a certain advertisement is selected frequently
regardless of its location within the program guide, it may be concluded that that
type of advertisement is effective.
[0047] At step 170, the information collected in step 154 is used to generate real-time
ratings such as real-time ratings of how popular (or unpopular) certain television
programs are or real-time ratings indicating which non-program-guide applications
such as video games are being used most (or least) often.
[0048] At step 172, information on the relative value of different advertising locations
determined at step 168 may be used in modifying various advertising promotions. Information
on the relative values of advertising locations may also be used to generate advertising
rates for sales personnel to use in selling advertisements. If desired, information
on the value of different program guide locations may be used to automatically charge
advertisers fees that are proportional in some respect to the value received when
advertisements are placed in various locations. Information on the value of advertising
locations within the guide may also be used in redesigning guides to maximize advertising
effectiveness. Information on a particular advertisement's effectiveness may be used
to design other advertisements of the same type.
[0049] At step 174, the real-time ratings information generated at step 170 may be distributed
to user television equipment 32 and displayed (e.g., on each user's television 38).
Real-time ratings information may include information on which programs are being
watched or which video games or other applications are being used.
[0050] Real-time ratings may be provided to users at user television equipment 32 for display
on television 38 in real time. An illustrative real-time ratings program guide screen
176 is shown in FIG. 10a. The user may direct the program guide to display screen
176 by pressing a suitable remote control button or selecting a suitable menu option.
The program guide may also provide real-time ratings information to the user automatically.
Screen 176 contains title 178, real-time ratings information 180, options button 182,
and cancel button 183 (for cancelling screen 176). In the example of FIG. 10a, screen
176 is shown as displaying information related to the current top five programs in
the nation. By selecting options button 182, the user may be provided with suitable
opportunities to direct the program guide to display other types of real-time ratings
information.
[0051] If desired, the program guide may provide a movable highlight region such as highlight
region 185. The user may use highlight region to select a program of interest from
the programs listed on real-time ratings screen 176. The program guide may provide
the user with an opportunity to take various actions with respect to the selected
program. For example, the program guide may allow the user to set a reminder for the
selected program. The program guide may also allow the user to purchase the selected
program if the selected program is a pay-per-view program. If desired, the program
guide may provide the user with an opportunity to set up a recording of the selected
program. Steps involved in this process are shown in FIG. 10b. At step 187 the program
guide provides the user with an opportunity to select a desired listing (e.g., a program).
At step 189, after the user has selected a listing, the program guide provides the
user with an opportunity to take an action in the program guide, e.g., to set a reminder
for a program, to purchase a pay-per-view program, or to record a program.
[0052] The real-time ratings screen may be presented as a full screen or as a partial screen
overlay (e.g., over a television program that the user is watching).
[0053] Steps involved in handling real-time ratings information are shown in FIG. 11. At
step 184, system 20 collects real-time ratings information (e.g., by monitoring the
viewing activities of the user with viewing activities monitor 102). Collecting the
ratings information typically involves the use of a data processor, which may be located
at main facility 22, television distribution facility 28, or other suitable data processing
facility. At step 186, the real-time ratings information may be displayed (by the
program guide or other suitable application or passively on a special television channel)
on user television equipment 32 using a screen such as real-time ratings screen 176
of FIG. 10a or any other suitable display format.
[0054] When the user selects options button 182, the user is provided with opportunities
to select the type of real-time ratings information that the user desires to view.
For example, at step 188, the user is provided with an opportunity to select the geographic
area for which real-time ratings information is desired. The user may direct the program
guide to display real-time ratings information for the nation, for a state, for a
metropolitan area, a city or town, or any other suitable geographic area. At step
190, an opportunity is provided for the user to select a programming genre or genres
of interest (e.g., sports, movies, comedy, etc.). If the user selects the genre sports,
real-time ratings for sports-related programs may be displayed on screen 176 of FIG.
10a. If the user selects the genres movies and comedy, the top five comedy movies
may be displayed on real-time ratings screen 176 of FIG. 10a. At step 192, an opportunity
is provided for the user to define a suitable time frame for the real-time ratings.
For example, the user may opt to have real-time ratings displayed for programs during
the last hour, programs for the current evening, programs for the current week, or
programs being aired at that instant, etc. These time frames are illustrative and
any other suitable time frames or combination of time frames may be used if desired.
At step 194, the user is provided with an opportunity to select the type of ratings
that the user wishes to view. For example, the user may opt to have real-time ratings
information displayed for television programs (e.g., the top five movies being viewed
on television this evening in the nation). The user may also opt to have real-time
ratings information displayed for set-top applications such as video games (e.g.,
the top five video games being played in the metropolitan area at this instant). These
are only illustrative examples of the types of ratings information that may be displayed.
Any other suitable ratings information may be displayed if desired.
[0055] After the user has selected from the options presented at steps 188, 190, 192, and
194, real-time ratings information is displayed again at step 186. Although the opportunities
provided in steps 188, 190, 192, and 194 are preferably opportunities that are provided
by the interactive program guide implemented on user television equipment 32, these
steps may be provided using any other suitable application implemented on user television
equipment 32 or system 20 if desired. Moreover, steps 188, 190, 192, and 194 are merely
illustrative examples of the type of configuration options that may be provided to
the user. Any other suitable configuration options for the real-time ratings feature
may be provided if desired.
[0056] The program guide may support multiple user profiles. For example, each user may
set up a profile with a different set of favorite channels. The program guide may
ascertain which users are watching a given program by determining which profiles are
currently active. Steps involved in monitoring the viewing activities of users in
a system with multiple user profiles are shown in FIG. 12. At step 196, the program
guide allows the users to set up multiple user profiles. At step 198, the program
guide collects information for each of the active profiles. The information collection
processes that are used during step 198 may be run concurrently. At step 200, the
collected information for the monitored profiles is processed. If multiple profiles
were active, the system can use this information to determine the probable number
of viewers for a television program. For example, if three profiles were active during
a given program, the system may conclude that there were at least three viewers for
the program. The system can also process the collected information for each monitored
profile individually to provide a more detailed picture of the viewership of the program.
[0057] If necessary to reduce the amount of data collected in the system, information may
be collected from a subset of users. Information may also be collected from the user
television equipment 32 of substantially all of the users in system 20 if it is desired
to provide the most accurate usage data possible. Data collected by each user's user
television equipment 32 may be uploaded to a central data processing location periodically.
For example, data uploading may be performed over a cable return path such as link
34 or a telephone modem line, or other suitable communications path. Data collection
may be based on a polling cycle in which each user's user television equipment is
periodically polled for the data to be collected. Data may also be transmitted from
user television equipment 32 unsolicited at regular intervals. If desired, information
confirming the successful transmission of the data being collected may be collected
from each user's user television equipment 32 at regular intervals.
[0058] The amount of data handled by the system may be reduced by filtering out less important
data at suitable stages during the data collection and data analysis processes. Steps
involved in data filtering are shown in FIG. 13. At step 202, data of interest is
collected at user television equipment 32. At step 204, less important data is filtered
from the data collected at step 202. Step 204 may be performed at user television
equipment 32 prior to data transmission. At step 206, the data is conveyed to a data
processing facility, which may be for example, one of television distribution facilities
28, main facility 22, or other suitable facility. At step 208, additional data is
filtered out of the collected data at the data processing facility.
[0059] Filtering may be performed at user television equipment 32 (as in step 204) using
a filter such as filter 210 in user television equipment 32 of FIG. 14. Filtering
may also be performed using a filter 212 at a data processing facility 214 as shown
in FIG. 14 (as in step 208). If desired, filtering may be performed at any other suitable
location, or at a combination of such locations.
[0060] As shown in FIG. 15, a suitable data collection filter 216 may involve the use of
a filter 218 that is based on specific advertisements or actions to be collected.
This arrangement allows information for only a particular advertisement or set of
advertisements to be collected by the system. It also allows information for only
a particular action (e.g., the purchasing of a product or ordering of a pay-per-view
program) to be collected by the system. Data collection filter 216 may in addition
or alternatively be based on a filter 220 that is based on user demographic information.
This arrangement allows information to be collected for only certain demographic attributes,
such as users with a certain income level, etc. The demographic attributes on which
the operation of filter 220 is based may be automatically calculated by the program
guide. A program guide with the capacity for handling advertisements based on automatic
demographics information is described in Knee et al. U.S. patent application Serial
No. 09/189,777, filed concurrently herewith, which is hereby incorporated by reference
herein in its entirety.
[0061] The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various
modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope
and spirit of the invention.
[0062] In another aspect of the invention there is also provided a system in which advertisements
are displayed for users by an interactive television program guide implemented on
user television equipment, comprising:
means for displaying the advertisements on the user television equipment with the
interactive television program guide ; and
means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements in the interactive
television program guide.
[0063] In such a system the means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements
may further comprise means for collecting information on the amount that the advertisements
are displayed.
[0064] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on the location in the program guide where
the advertisements are displayed.
[0065] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on which advertisements
are displayed.
[0066] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting advertisement identifier information which identifies
which advertisements are displayed.
[0067] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on the number of times each advertisement
is displayed.
[0068] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on which program guide screens advertisements
are displayed on.
[0069] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on which screens are active when a given
one of the advertisements is selected by one of the users.
[0070] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on which user actions result directly from
selection of a given one of the advertisements by one of the users.
[0071] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on the times that advertisements are displayed.
[0072] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on the times that actions are taken automatically
by the program guide.
[0073] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on which screens
are displayed by the program guide.
[0074] The system may further comprise means for collecting screen identifier information
that uniquely identifies which program guide screens are displayed by the program
guide.
[0075] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on the frequency
with which certain program guide screens are displayed by the program guide.
[0076] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on the duration
for which program guide screens are displayed by the program guide.
[0077] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on how users arrive
at program guide screens in the program guide.
[0078] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on which television
programs are displayed on the user television equipment.
[0079] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on whether a user
interacts with the program guide during the display of a given program on the user
television equipment.
[0080] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on whether the user
television equipment is muted during the display of a given program on the user television
equipment.
[0081] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on whether a screen
overlay is present on the user television equipment during the display of a given
program on the user television equipment.
[0082] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on which non-program-guide
applications are used on the user television equipment.
[0083] The system may further comprise means for collecting information with the program
guide on which non-program-guide applications are used on the user television equipment.
[0084] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on how users invoke
non-program-guide applications on the user television equipment.
[0085] The system may further comprise means for collecting information on the amount that
non-program-guide applications are used on the user television equipment.
[0086] The advertisements may be transmitted to the user television equipment from a television
distribution facility, the system further comprising means for monitoring when advertisements
are transmitted from the television distribution facility to the user television equipment.
[0087] The advertisements may be transmitted to the user television equipment from a television
distribution facility, the system further comprising means for monitoring when advertisements
that are transmitted from the television distribution facility are received at the
user television equipment.
[0088] The advertisements may be transmitted to a television distribution facility from
a main facility, the system further comprising means for monitoring when advertisements
are transmitted from the main facility to the television distribution facility.
[0089] The information that is collected on the usage of advertisements in the program guide
may be transmitted from the user television equipment to a data processing facility,
the system further comprising means for filtering out less important information from
the collected information prior to transmission of the collected information from
the user television equipment.
[0090] The information that is collected on the usage of advertisements in the program guide
may be transmitted from the user television equipment to a data processing facility,
the system further comprising means for filtering out less important information from
the collected information at the data processing facility.
[0091] The system may further comprise filter means for filtering out less important information
from the information collected on advertisement usage, the filter means being based
on specific advertisements.
[0092] The means for collecting information on advertisement usage may further comprise
means for collecting information for multiple user profiles.
[0093] The system may further comprise:
means for collecting real-time ratings information; and
and means for displaying the real-time ratings information on the user television
equipment.
[0094] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements in the
interactive television program guide by substantially all users of the system.
[0095] The means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise means for collecting information on the usage of the advertisements in the
interactive television program guide by a subset of users of the system.
[0096] There is also provided a method for monitoring advertisement usage in a system in
which advertisements are displayed for users by an interactive television program
guide implemented on user television equipment, comprising the steps of:
displaying the advertisements on the user television equipment with the interactive
television program guide ; and
collecting information on the usage of the advertisements in the interactive television
program guide.
[0097] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the amount that the advertisements
are displayed.
[0098] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the location in the program guide where
the advertisements are displayed.
[0099] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on which advertisements
are displayed.
[0100] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting advertisement identifier information which identifies
which advertisements are displayed.
[0101] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the number of times each advertisement
is displayed.
[0102] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on which program guide screens advertisements
are displayed on.
[0103] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on which screens are active when a given
one of the advertisements is selected by one of the users.
[0104] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on which user actions result directly
from selection of a given one of the advertisements by one of the users.
[0105] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the times that advertisements are displayed.
[0106] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the times that actions are taken automatically
by the program guide.
[0107] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on which screens
are displayed by the program guide.
[0108] The method may further comprise the step of collecting screen identifier information
that uniquely identifies which program guide screens are displayed by the program
guide.
[0109] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on the frequency
with which certain program guide screens are displayed by the program guide.
[0110] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on the duration
for which program guide screens are displayed by the program guide.
[0111] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on how users arrive
at program guide screens in the program guide.
[0112] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on which television
programs are displayed on the user television equipment.
[0113] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on whether a user
interacts with the program guide during the display of a given program on the user
television equipment.
[0114] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on whether the
user television equipment is muted during the display of a given program on the user
television equipment.
[0115] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on whether a screen
overlay is present on the user television equipment during the display of a given
program on the user television equipment.
[0116] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on which non-program-guide
applications are used on the user television equipment.
[0117] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information with the program
guide on which non-program-guide applications are used on the user television equipment.
[0118] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on how users invoke
non-program-guide applications on the user television equipment.
[0119] The method may further comprise the step of collecting information on the amount
that non-program-guide applications are used on the user television equipment.
[0120] The advertisements may be transmitted to the user television equipment from a television
distribution facility, the method further comprising the step of monitoring when advertisements
are transmitted from the television distribution facility to the user television equipment.
[0121] The advertisements may be transmitted to the user television equipment from a television
distribution facility, the method further comprising the step of monitoring when advertisements
that are transmitted from the television distribution facility are received at the
user television equipment.
[0122] The advertisements may be transmitted to a television distribution facility from
a main facility, the method further comprising the step of monitoring when advertisements
are transmitted from the main facility to the television distribution facility.
[0123] The information that is collected on the usage of advertisements in the program guide
may be transmitted from the user television equipment to a data processing facility,
the method further comprising the step of filtering out less important information
from the collected information prior to transmission of the collected information
from the user television equipment.
[0124] The information that is collected on the usage of advertisements in the program guide
may be transmitted from the user television equipment to a data processing facility,
the method further comprising the step of filtering out less important information
from the collected information at the data processing facility.
[0125] The method may further comprise the step of filtering out less important information
from the information collected on advertisement usage with a filter based on specific
advertisements.
[0126] The step of collecting information on advertisement usage may further comprise the
step of collecting information for multiple user profiles.
[0127] The method may further comprise the steps of:
collecting real-time ratings information; and
displaying the real-time ratings information on the user television equipment.
[0128] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements in
the interactive television program guide by substantially all users of the system.
[0129] The step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements may further
comprise the step of collecting information on the usage of the advertisements in
the interactive television program guide by a subset of users of the system.
[0130] In another aspect, there is provided a system in which an interactive television
program guide is implemented on user television equipment, comprising:
means for displaying program guide display screens on the user television equipment
with the interactive television program guide; and
means for collecting information on which program guide display screens are displayed
in the interactive television program guide.
[0131] In another aspect, there is provided a method for using a system in which an interactive
television program guide is implemented on user television equipment, comprising the
steps of:
displaying program guide display screens on the user television equipment with the
interactive television program guide; and
collecting information on which program guide display screens are displayed in the
interactive television program guide.
[0132] In another aspect, there is provided a system in which an interactive television
program guide is implemented on user television equipment, comprising:
means for providing an opportunity for a user to use non-program-guide applications
on the user television equipment; and
means for collecting information with the interactive television program guide on
which nonprogram guide applications are used.
[0133] In another aspect, there is provided a method for using a system in which an interactive
television program guide is implemented on user television equipment, comprising the
steps of:
providing an opportunity for a user to use non-program-guide applications on the user
television equipment; and
collecting information with the interactive television program guide on which nonprogram
guide applications are used.
1. A system for providing real-time ratings to users, comprising:
means for collecting real-time ratings information based on the activities of users
at user television equipment; and
means for displaying the real-time ratings information on the user television equipment
in real time.
2. The system defined in claim 1 further comprising means for providing an opportunity
for defining a time frame for the real-time ratings.
3. The system defined in claim 2 wherein the means for providing the opportunity for
defining the time frame for the real-time ratings comprises means for providing an
opportunity for: defining a time frame of this hour for the real-time ratings; or
defining a time frame of this evening for the real-time ratings; or defining a time
frame of today for the real-time ratings; or defining a time frame of this week for
the real-time ratings; or defining a time frame of this instant for the real-time
ratings.
4. The system defined in claim 1 further comprising means for providing an opportunity
for selecting a geographic area for the real-time ratings.
5. The system defined in claim 1 further comprising means for providing an opportunity
for selecting a genre for the real-time ratings.
6. The system defined in claim 1 further comprising means for providing an opportunity
for selecting whether the real-time ratings are for television programs; or for applications;
or for nonprogram-guide applications; or for video games.
7. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the means for displaying the real-time ratings
information comprises means for displaying real-time television program ratings.
8. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the means for displaying the real-time ratings
information comprises means for displaying real-time video game ratings.
9. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the means for displaying the real-time ratings
information comprises means for displaying real-time ratings for a time period of
this evening or for a time period of this instant.
10. The system defined in claim 1 further comprising means for allowing each user to select
which type of real-time ratings are displayed.
11. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the means for collecting the real-time ratings
information comprises means for collecting information on whether a muting function
is used when certain programs are watched; or
wherein the means for collecting the real-time ratings information comprises means
for collecting information on whether any portion of the video of a program is blocked
as that program is watched; or
12. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the real-time ratings information comprises
a list of programs, the system further comprising:
means for selecting one of the programs to purchase; or
means for selecting one of the programs to set a reminder for that program; or
means for selecting one of the programs to record.
13. A method for providing real-time ratings to users, comprising the steps of:
collecting real-time ratings information based on the activities of users at user
television equipment; and
displaying the real-time ratings information on the user television equipment in real
time.
14. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the step of providing an opportunity
for defining a time frame for the real-time ratings.
15. The method defined in claim 14 wherein the step of providing the opportunity for defining
the time frame for the real-time ratings comprises the step of:
providing an opportunity for defining a time frame of this hour for the real-time
ratings; or
providing an opportunity for defining a time frame of this evening for the real-time
ratings; or
providing an opportunity for defining a time frame of today for the real-time ratings;
or
providing an opportunity for defining a time frame of this week for the real-time
ratings; or
providing an opportunity for defining a time frame of this instant for the real-time
ratings.
16. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the step of providing an opportunity
for selecting a geographic area for the real-time ratings.
17. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the step of providing an opportunity
for selecting a genre for the real-time ratings.
18. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the step of providing an opportunity
for selecting whether the real-time ratings are for television programs; or for applications;
or for nonprogram-guide applications; or for video games.
19. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the step of displaying the real-time ratings
information comprises the step of displaying real-time television program ratings
or real-time video game ratings.
20. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the step of displaying the real-time ratings
information comprises the step of displaying real-time ratings for a time period of
this evening or for a time period of this instant.
21. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the step of allowing each user to
select which type of real-time ratings are displayed.
22. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the step of collecting the real-time ratings
information comprises the step of:
collecting information on whether a muting function is used when certain programs
are watched; or
collecting information on whether any portion of the video of a program is blocked
as that program is being watched; or
23. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the real-time ratings information comprises
a list of programs, the method further comprising the step of :
selecting one of the programs to purchase; or
selecting one of the programs to set a reminder for that program; or
selecting one of the programs to record.